LPA Moving Image / Nick David / Made in Japan

Nick David and filmmaker Jack Flynn have been collaborating again recently to create this short film documenting denim manufacturers in Japan.

It follows on from the success of ‘The Big Cloth’ which explores the production of Harris Tweed in Scotland. ‘The Big Cloth’ has been viewed more than two million times online, has been showcased on the National Geographic channel and has toured Europe with the British Council to highlight sustainability in the fashion industry.

Nick and Jack were keen to document what makes Japanese Denim the best in the world and speak to some of the people who have been creating the hand-riveted and hand dyed jeans in the same way for the past 70 years!

The pair travelled to Okayama in Japan to meet some of the artisans who have been creating Japanese denim on old-fashioned looms for generations, passing on the skills from one generation to the next. Nick and Jack captured both stills and moving image from the factories, the fields where the indigo is grown and the local area as well as interviewing the people creating the denim.

Both stills and the film capture the beauty of the denim, showcasing the hypnotic folding of the fabric and the age of the looms as well as the people who have been working them, some of who have been making denim that way for 50 years!

Nick says that they did face challenges when interviewing the people, not least because of the language barrier! "People were initially quite guarded and reserved about being filmed… We didn't want to just document how you make a piece of cloth, we wanted to get some sort of human connection and a bit of emotion. Our approach is fairly relaxed, which helps to put people at ease."

You can read the full article and see more on the Canon website by clicking here.

Beautiful work Nick and Jack!